Meet Simonetta Stefanelli. She played Michael Corleone’s wife, Appolonia, in the classic movie The Godfather. Read her biography and see a video below.
Poor Simonetta! Unfortunately, she is one of those who suffer from chronic internet rumors of her death. The first report of her ‘death’ came in 2006 and was actually first seen on the internet by her son! Simonetta has said that she remembered getting calls from friends, some in tears, who thought she really had died. After getting a condolence message from a Newsday report, she decided to talk to the press and fight the rumors. She wants people to know she is very much alive.
Simonetta Stefanelli was born on November 30, 1954 in Rome, Italy so her age is 53. She is best known outside of Italy for her role in the classic 1972 movie The Godfather, in which she played ‘Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone,’ the murdered young wife of ‘Michael Corleone’ played by Al Pacino. Simonetta was just 17 years old and spoke no English when she played this role.
Simonetta has also appeared in more than a dozen Italian films, sometimes in leading roles. She posed for Playboy in 1974.
She was married to the actor-director Michele Placido, with whom she appeared in a number of films including the 1975 erotic drama Peccati in Famiglia. They had three children and divorced in 1994.
As mentioned earlier, Simonetta is constantly battling internet rumors of her death. She is no longer acting and is now a fashion designer of beautiful shoes and purses.
Simonetta Stefanelli Video
